Chapter 13 : A Hero Without his Shadow

Link POV :

It had been a few days already since that fateful battle on Eldin's Bridge … Managing to save Collin was one thing, but coming back to Kakariko Village with not one, but two unconscious body, was something else...

Explaining to everyone who Midna was had been a pain, everyone was cautious, and I can't blame them, but … Midna is in that state because of me, because she fought for me, and I couldn't protect her, it was my responsibility to take care of her now, like it had been when she got poisoned, my reckless acts almost cost Midna her life, so even as the very children I was here to save backed away from me in fear, I kept on going, pleading Renaldo to save her.

When he took her from my arms, it was a huge weight lifted from me, Midna wasn't that heavy, but the fear I felt for her life were heavier than the Iron Boots I was currently carrying … I stayed days and nights by her side, just to make sure she was alright, but nothing would do it … She wouldn't wake up.

After the 6th day, I decided enough was enough, the Villager would take care of her, I was sure of it now, they feared her, but they trusted me, she would be in good care in Kakariko Village, and so a choice was made, Midna got hurt because of me, I wouldn't let that happen again, I had to face this new challenge alone, to make sure that she wouldn't be harmed further …

I had to face this Deathly Mountain on my own, for her, and for everyone else I cared about.

Me-Dna POV :

"That Idiot !" I yelled loudly after taking in what Renado just said, I shot out of bed, floating around in mid-air as Renado was trying to calm me down.

"Midna, please, Link can be … Reckless, but he is a skilled swordsman, and after training with Boo, I'm su-" He tried to comfort me, but I needed none of that.

"Link doesn't know the line between courage and stupidity ! That's what I'm here for !" I cut him directly, "Without me that idiot is gonna get killed by .. I don't know … Trying to bring a Wooden Shield in an active Volcano !" I was furious, "I have to go there, immediately"

"What ?! You cannot be thinking that ! Even if the potion had some effect, you're still recovering !" Renado was shouting as well now, but I still couldn't just stay here now.

"Potions won't work on ashes Renado ! And that's the only thing that will remain of Link if I don't hurry up !" I was already floating toward the door "I don't have time to loose in that argument, I'm going there, with or without your consentement" He looked pained, but ultimately couldn't stop me, he simply sat there, saying nothing, as I floated downstair, while being careful to coat myself in shadows.

Once outside, I noticed that we were still in the middle of the day, with the sun brightly shining in the sky 'Dammit …' I thought 'Getting there with so little shadows is gonna be a pain … But I have too, I can't leave him there !' A voice interrupted my thoughts "M-Miss !"

Turning around, I saw a child standing behind me, it was … Beth ? What was she even doing there … "Y-You're Miss M-Midna right ?" The poor thing look absolutely terrified while talking to me … Which made me even more confused as to why she was here.

"Um, yes, that's me, and you are ?" Couldn't exactly tell her that I knew her name, since Link never talked about them, seeing her all trembling and scared in front of me, I couldn't keep a cold expression either "You don't have to worry sweetheart, I'm not a bad guy, I was with Link you know ? He's a super good guy" I tell her with a smile, before adding ".. Even if he's a bit of a dumbass sometime" It earned her a little laugh, she seemed more comfortable now.

"Hehe, that sound like him indeed" She said, smiling at me "I'm Beth !" She looked away for a bit once she looked at me.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Beth, I'm Midna eh-he, I'm quite sorry though, I got to be on my way to save this dumbass of a friend we seem to share" I was ready to float away, before she spoke up again.

"Um ! I was downstair while you were talking with Renado and …" She hands me out a Shield, made out of metal, with a pelicular design on it, 'The Hylian Shield ?!' "... Link did go to the mountain with a Wooden Shield … So I … If you're going to save him … Please give him that shield ! Tell him it's from Beth, Malo and Talo, okay ?" She was still trembling a bit while ending it to me, but she was trying her best.

Not being able to take it in my current form, I quickly formed a plan "Oh I .. Of course, I can't take it as it is though" I demonstrate by passing my hand through the shield "But .. You see that big portal in the sky, just at the entrance ?" I point toward it "Place the shield there, I'll be able to teleport it to Link once I'll be inside" I then smile at her "Thank you Beth, you're a very courageous girl" She beamed at my praise, before going to the portal, and placing it carefully on the ground, I give her a thumbs up from where I am, before floating away.

Death Mountain, here I come !

'And there you are, well don't you look mighty, mister I'm gonna explore an active Volcano infested with monsters on my own !' I had finally found him, my idiotic partner was there, crouching behind a wall while bulbin were hurling arrows at him.

After finding a corner where I could regain my physical form without danger, I summoned a portal linked to Kakariko Village, and pulled up the Hylian Shield, before throwing it at Mister Hero, it hit him right in the stomach, not hard enough to injure him, but good enough to make him know, once he spotted me, that I had a few words of choices to tell him.

His surprised expression after seeing me didn't last long though, he sprung in action, using his new shield he blocked the incoming arrows, before pulling his own bow and countering with some precise shot, once they were all down, he turned back to where I was.

"Midna ?! What are you doing here !" He shouted at me, while walking up to me.

"Saving your sorry ass apparently !" I replied angrily "What sort of idiot are you Link ! Rushing blindly in a Dungeon like that ! And you went with a Wooden Shield ?! That's not bravery that's-" I lashed out at him, but he cutted me up with a smile

"Idiocy, I know" He stopped for a minute, before continuing "I missed you too Midna" … That idiot … How was I supposed to get mad at him now …

"I-I …" I started, tears building up in my eyes "I was so worried for you Link … You could have been killed … Burned … Stabbed … Anything could have happened to you and … I wouldn't have been there to help you …" The stress and worries I had since I heard where he was were finally getting to me, and I couldn't stop myself from crying.

He took me in his arms, as I could feel some of his own tears rolling down my back "So was I Midna … Thanks the Goddesses, you're alright …" Ah … If only he knew how ironic that sentence is … But neither the less, I dried down my tears, before getting my smile back.

"Well .. We're both alright, but …" I punched him lightly on the stomach, where the shield hitted him earlier "Don't do that again, kay ? Or I'm gonna kick your ass" I say teasingly, he broke down the hug, before smiling at me.

"I wouldn't count on it, probably gonna feel that stomach ache for a few days haha" His expression went back to serious, as he checked my head "How about you Midna ? Are you truly healed ? I was worried the potion wouldn't work correctly …" His voice was filled with fear and worry.

"Like I said, we're both alright, so don't worry, I'm healthy enough to put you in a world of pain if you leave me behind again, so I'm alright" I tell him, smiling, before getting back into his shadow, "Well, home sweet home I guess, where do we go from here ? I'm a bit out of the loop now"

He started moving once again, while filling me on the details "The Goron chief went crazy, we have to stop him, the door was shut by 4 keys, which I finally got a hold on, but …" He stopped for a minute, staring at his bow "I had to fight some of the Goron elder on my way, they thought I was a thief because of that bow .. It used to be their treasure, yet Renado is the one that gave it to me … I'll have to ask him about it later"

I interrupted "Link, you know just like me that Renado was at the Village when the Twilight settled in, the Gorons wouldn't let him pass, so he can't be the one who stole it" I pause for a minute "But … We did hear about someone that could, that Invisible Guy who defended Kakariko before we got here fit that bill" I think about it for a minute "The problem is that I have no idea who it could be .. You're only allowed your physical form because of that triangle on your hand, and I have a physical form because I'm a Twili … I have no idea if another Twili survived when Zant attacked, but it would seem like someone else is acting behind the scene" I finish with the one Million Rupee question.

"But is he a friend … Or a foe ?"

Zant was … Annoyed to say the least, even after his complete victory on the Light Realm, even after crushing the spirit of their Princess, and destroying her Royal Guard to pieces … Someone was still standing on his way.

His god had warned him about the Hero blessed by Farore, which is why after he sent King Bulbin after him, he had expected the problem to be resolved, but no … Those pest kept interrupting his planning again and again, two of the three Light Spirits were already recovered … And he knew the third one wouldn't be far behind.

But one thing did bring a smile to his face, the last report that this green savage got to him, brought a wonderful news, the Royal Brat was dead, it was a wonder to him that even after changing her appearance in such ways, she would still show her face to anyone, but it didn't matter, even though Bulbin had lost that battle against the Hero, he had struck down that impish pest once and for all.

Now only the Hero remained, and while he could just strike him down himself, he didn't need to bother with such thing, he knew exactly how to deal with him, if he wanted to bring back those pesky Light Spirits, he just had to cut his way to it, and those disgusting Zoras that stood in his way when he took over their lake also deserves a punishment for such foolish actions, with that idea in mind, he teleported to Lake Hylia to execute it.

But … Unknown to him, a figure hidden in the shadow was waiting for that exact opportunity to strike

"That's one hell of a big door" I remark as I see Link nod in agreement.

We had finally arrived to the deepest part of the mine, and … the door was absolutely gigantic, I knew the size of what we'll have to face on the other side, but still … It's something.

"Link ?" He turns back to me "Be careful inside alright ? I know you used your red potion on me … So just … Be careful, I'll be there, but you know it's hard for me to act when there is a lot of light" Granted, the cave itself was very dark, but the enemy we would have to face produce his own light .. And fire was quite deadly to me.

"Don't worry Midna, I should be the one telling you this, aren't you gonna hit me up with one of your crazy plan now ?" He tease me lightly, I laugh a little bit at it.

"Hehe, not this time, I think you can handle it, but just be careful, I don't want you to be the one half dead after this fight haha" He nods at me, before unlocking the door.

As I predicted, the inside was pitch black, until a blinding light came in, the fire produced by the Titan himself, Fyrus, Link was already readying his sword, as the giant broke free from his chain, his frontal jewel burning of an intense glow..

Link was already preparing his bow, aiming for the jewel, when Fyrus abruptly swung his arm, the chain previously retaining him had just barely missed him, Link shot up the arrow right on spot, as he saw the creature flailing around, his fire had gone out, while he was wrecking the entire room in a fit of rage.

"Link ! What are you doing ?! Don't stand still like that ! You have to stop him !" I yell at him, why was he stopped ? Fyrus could hit him any times there !

"I can't see him !" He yelled back at me, that's when it hit me, I had grew so accustomed to this great vision I had in the dark, that I had forgotten that Light Realmers couldn't do that, 'Light Realmers ? When did I start thinking of Hylians like that ..' Chasing that though away, I made a solution quickly.

Snapping my fingers, a ball of greenish energy was floating around me "Can you see that Link ?" After a quick nod and him walking toward me, I made more of those, they worked with the same energy as what I made in our little Prison Break, I made those orbs run along the whole body of Fyrus, giving him an idea to where he was.

"We need to make him trip Link !" I pointed toward the chain retaining his feet, "I'll take one, take the other alright ?" Link was dodging around as Fyrus was completely destroying the room we were in, looking at the ceiling … It wouldn't be a long time before the room would collapse, we needed to act fast !

Link sprung in action, and put his Iron Boot while catching the chain, pulling it as hard as he could, I tried to do the same, but I got carried away by the chain, I couldn't retain it like Link did … At least I couldn't until Link caught me, anchoring me to the floor with his boots, while I was pulling the chain as hard as I could with my hair … The pain was unbearable, feeling like my hair could cut open any moments as Fyrus pushed my magic to it's limit, but finally he fell over.

Link was quick to react, releasing me as I collapsed to the floor, trying to catch my breath, while he was rushing to him, and with a quick clean thrust, the jewel producing his magic broke on impact with the Master Sword.

The magic leaved his body, as the much smaller figure of the Goron Elder was formed instead, like last time, the magic went two seperate way, on one side the Fused Shadow Piece appeared, on the other, a Heart Container, looking at my side, I could see Link completely washed up from the fight, laying on the ground like me, breathing heavily.

I picked myself up from the floor, while taking the Heart Container in hand, I handed it to Link, "Here, Mister Titan Slayer, this should help you up" He smiled at me, while taking the container, and thrusting it directly in his body, the container just went through it, as Link suddenly jumped off the floor, back on his two feet, completely energized.

"Wow ! That's … This is amazing ! I feel incredible !" He yelled loudly, his previous injury were completely gone, and he looked more healthy than ever.

I giggled a bit "You feel great ! You can do this !" I chanted with him, he looked at me weirdly "What ? You looked like you were having fun with that, just joining in eh-he-he" He laughed nervously, realizing what he was doing before.

"Haha … Don't you have a Fused Shadow Piece to pick up ?" He changed subject quickly, I let out a little laugh, before snapping back to the Shadow piece, I took it in hand, and Link took it back from me, putting it in his pouch.

"Ah, so THAT'S where the other piece went after I collapsed, Magic is weird sometimes …" I say thinking about it, an infinite pouch WAS a pretty weird concept … Where did they go when he put an item in it ? Like where was the physical place where they could be found ?

Before he could respond, the ground started to shake, the room we were in was about to collapse after our fight, we had to leave, now, "Um … Midna ? Could you hurry up and use your weird magic to get us out of here ?" Link said worryingly.

I hurry up and make two separate portals, I throw the elder in the first one, linked to Death Mountain, before pointing Link to the second one, linked to Kakariko Village.

We both took that last portal, and the last thing we could hear while teleporting, was the sound of the room collapsing

And that's it for today's chapter everyone !

Thank you all so much for waiting around for this next chapter, I wish I could release them at a quicker pace, but unfortunately, a lot of other things prevent me from writing when I want too, but don't you all worry ! Slowly, but surely, I WILL continue this story to it's end ! And I hope that you will all stick around until then hehe

So for this chapter, a lot of interesting things happened ! We got a view into Link's thought while Me-Dna was unconscious, and his reasoning to last chapter's cliffhanger, self guilt is a very powerful enemy unfortunately …

Meanwhile, Me-Dna sprung out of her short lived coma, to head directly to the Dungeon, but got a very sweet gift from Link's friend, because yes, in a world that isn't bound by gameplay mechanics, I don't believe that Malo would still want Link to pay him for this shield, after he saved their lives and is on the road of saving the world, so human decency got us a free shield, Houray !

The whole part in the dungeon and on the boss was a bit difficult to write out, but I do hope you all enjoyed it, I put my own thoughts of how that Boss would change in a "Real World" instead of a game, so even this boss who is widely considered the easiest of them all, could pose some serious threat
I also took the occasion to explain how Heart Container work when they aren't used to revive a dying little Me-Dna haha

And finally, the question of this mysterious individual working in the shadow was brought up once again, as Link had to face tougher challenge due to possessing their stolen treasure, while at the same time, in parallel of Me-Dna and Link's adventure, that same person seem to be plotting something with Zant … Are they there to overthrow Zant and help us ? Are they against us ? Who knows ! Certainly not me hehe

I hope that you guys enjoyed today's read, as always I'm a bit nervous when posting those chapters, so feedbacks are always appreciated, I'll be happy to talk with you all in the comments !